Oh, what's occuring?

A rundown of my TV and pop-culture consuming as of late.

!. The title of this post is a reference to the really great British romantic comedy sitcom, Gavin and Stacey, now airing on BBC America. I feel kind of bad that I haven't gotten around to blogging about it until now, but it's not my blogs have some great influence over the TV viewers of the world anyway. I really do love this show though! It's the story of a young couple (yes, named Gavin and Stacey) as they meet, fall in love, get engaged and get married. The best part of the show is really the supporting players, though, including Nessa, Stacey's best friend, whose catchphrase is "what's occurring?" There's also Smithy, Gavin's best friend, Gavin's parents, and Stacey's mom and uncle, all of whom are hilarious in their own way. There have been two seasons and the second is airing right now. Not sure if there'll be a third, though I believe a Christmas special will be airing in the UK soon!

2. The word is that ABC has canceled Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money. It's not entirely surprising...Pushing Daisies was a little too quirky for me so it was definitely too much for network TV, and Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money never really caught steam. I am glad that the writers' strike enabled all of them to get another half-season, but I'm definitely disappointed that they probably won't get to wrap up much storyline. It's pretty terrible that three generally critically acclaimed shows like these get axed while things like Knight Rider, Kath & Kim, and 90210 are going to keep going...

3. Speaking of 90210, I'm still watching it despite how really terrible it is. The writing is just so...BAD. The storylines have all been predictable, dialogue is horrendous, and the acting isn't much better. Annie is not interesting or likable enough to be the lead, and the original flavor characters like Kelly and Brenda aren't being given anything good to do either. And yet I keep watching...

4. There is a good show on the CW on Tuesday nights though: Privileged. I'm not sure how it's doing in the ratings, but I think additional scripts were ordered so hopefully it'll stick around for a little while. The show centers around Megan, a recent Yale graduate who returns home to South Florida to become the live-in tutor to twins Rose and Sage, who are the granddaughters of Laurel, a wealthy cosmetic mogul. Megan is played wonderfully by Joanna Garcia...she's smart and optimistic and a little dorky, but she's not perfect. She has strained relationships with her father and sister, and is sometimes too wrapped up in her own life to realize what's going on with her friends. I do love the twins too -- Rose is played by Lucy Hale, who I found annoying in Bionic Woman and the second Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but I find really sweet here, and Sage, who's the taller, bitchier twin has really been growing on me. Michael Cassidy finally gets to play the good guy as Megan's best friend from childhood, Charlie, and there's Marco, the house chef, who's hilarious as the gay BFF type.

5. I've fallen behind with Terminator, Heroes, and Fringe, for different reasons. I do like Terminator, but it's sometimes just a little too like angsty and serious and I'm not that interested in whatever Ellison and Catherine Weaver are doing. Heroes just sucks and I doubt I'll ever get back into it, but I haven't quite cut the cord yet. And Fringe...the gore every week has turned me off a bit and the "Pattern" thing worries me because it seems to have the potential to spiral off into some Rambaldi type thing. (Yes, I will always begrudge J.J. Abrams for screwing up Alias.)

6. My favorite shows this season so far: Gossip Girl, Top Chef, 30 Rock, and the Amazing Race.

7. Shows I'm looking forward to in 2009: Battlestar Galactica (final season), Scrubs, Kyle XY, and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (though it's been doomed to a Friday night timeslot). Oh, and 24, too, I guess, though I didn't finish watching the last season and I'm a little miffed over the idea of Tony returning from the dead to be a bad guy. Can't they leave well enough alone?

8. I feel like I should comment on all the hoopla surrounding the Twilight movie. I originally wanted to see it but after reading some reviews and some audience reactions I think I'm going to pass and wait to see it on DVD. It's weird, I totally admit to have been sucked in by the books, but I really have a lot of problems with the series and I find it kind of bizarre that so many people are so ga-ga over it. (See my original reviews of Twilight/New Moon and Breaking Dawn. Also this article on Salon says a lot of what I was trying to.) But I'm sure it's going to make a killing at the box office anyway.

New fall shows: Fringe and True Blood

Fringe: I know I've said that I refuse to get sucked into another J.J. Abrams show, but apparently there's something that trumps my hate for J.J. Abrams -- my love for Pacey. Yes, Joshua Jackson is back on TV and I cannot resist. To be fair, Abrams has gone on record saying that he realizes how convoluted Alias and Lost got and that he's going to try to make Fringe a little more accessible, so maybe I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. A few things in the premiere had me a little worried though, not least of which was "the Pattern" which sounds suspiciously like it could devolve into a terrible Rambaldi-Dharma type conspiracy thing.

But beyond that, it remains to be seen whether the X-files-ish procedural aspect is going to work well. The lead girl, Olivia, played by Anna Torv, is a little bland but isn't as terrible as say, Jamie from Bionic Woman. But John Noble, as mad scientist (literally) Walter Bishop, and Joshua Jackson as Peter, his snarky genius son, are really great. Their dynamic was a lot of fun to watch. The beginning of the premiere was surpremely gross though...and as a non-horror-movie-fan, I hope there isn't going to be too much of that kind of stuff. Tentatively added to my schedule.

True Blood: I don't know why vampires are suddenly making a comeback, but this seemed like it was going to be one of the more interesting entries in the genre. Based on a series of novels, the title of the series refers to a synthetic blood beverage that's allowing vampires to come out into the public. The show takes place in Louisiana, which adds another unique element to the series (seems like all TV these days is about rich people in New York or California), although for some reason, the leads are played by a Kiwi (Anna Paquin), a Brit (Stephen Moyer), and an Aussie (Ryan Kwanten). (I'm not from the South so I can't comment on their accents.) A very blond and perky Anna Paquin plays Sookie, a local waitress who falls for Bill, a vampire returned to his hometown. The pilot sets up a murder that'll likely be an ongoing plotline, but other than that I can't say where the storyline's going to go.

I normally get into this kind of stuff but somehow I wasn't really hooked. Maybe it's because of the Twilight books (see my previous post) but I think I'm a little weary of this vampire true love stuff. I'm not sure Sookie and Bill's connection was that believable. And of course Sookie has a human admirer too, her boss Sam. Sookie does have some amusing coworkers and friends that could keep things fun, but I don't know. Unless buzz gets better I think I'm going to be shelving this one.